San Juan: 8-Day Andes Crossing Horseback Expedition

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (44 reviews) 100% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/14

Duration7d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Eight days on horseback retracing San Martín's mountain crossing

You ride for eight days across the Argentine Andes on the historic route General San Martín used to liberate South America, sleeping in mountain camps with mule support and local guides. The expedition includes all meals, accommodation in camps and cabins, vehicle transport to and from Barreal, and the use of horses and mules — you just need to arrive fit, bring a passport, and be ready for medium-high difficulty riding at altitude in summer weather.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival and acclimatization in Barreal

Reception in San Juan city
Transfer to Barreal
Accommodation in Barreal
Acclimatization and equipment check
Logistics briefing and history introduction
Free time

Day 2 — 4x4 transfer and first horseback ride

Breakfast
4x4 transfer to mountain post
Assign and prepare mules
Lunch in the field
Horseback ride through Cordilleran valley
Wildlife watching
Arrive at first camp

Day 3 — Horseback ride to Espinacito pass

Breakfast
Horseback ride to Espinacito pass
Reach 4,500 meters altitude
Arrive at base camp
Lunch and dinner
Overnight in Vegas de Gallardo camp

Day 4 — Ride to Valle Hermoso camp

Breakfast
Horseback ride to Valle de Los Patos
Continue to Valle Hermoso
Visit General San Martín's last Argentine camp
Dinner and overnight by the river

Day 5 — Ride to Argentine-Chilean border

Breakfast
Horseback ride to border landmark
Rest and free afternoon
Dinner and overnight in Valle Hermoso camp

Day 6 — Return ride to Vega del Cura

Breakfast
Horseback ride along mountain streams
Arrive at Rancho de Lata or Vega del Cura
Dinner and overnight at camp

Day 7 — Ascent and return to Barreal

Breakfast at Rancho de Lata or Vega del Cura
Ascend to Paso La Honda (4350 m)
View border line and Cerro Aconcagua
Arrive at Manantiales
Transfer to Barreal
Farewell dinner without beverages
Overnight in Barreal cabins

The Experience

You land in San Juan and drive straight to Barreal, a small town at the edge of the cordillera where the expedition begins. The next morning, a 4x4 takes you to the first mountain post, where you meet the mules and your guides — baqueanos who know these ravines and passes the way most people know their own streets. Breakfast happens on the ground. By midday you're riding into a valley hemmed in by Cerro La Ramada and Alma Negra, spotting native wildlife, and by evening you're camped at Los Hornitos, 8 days and 7 nights of riding ahead of you.

The route follows the actual path General José de San Martín took with his liberating army in the early 1800s — not as a theme, but as the geography itself. Day three takes you to Paso del Espinacito at 4,500 meters, the highest and most intense moment of the crossing. The air thins. The exposure is real. You reach the base camp at Vegas de Gallardo and understand why this route mattered: the mountains don't let you forget what you're doing. From there you ride through Valle de Los Patos to Valle Hermoso, where San Martín's army made their last camp on the Argentine side before crossing into Chile. You'll camp there too, then ride to the border marker itself — the hito fronterizo — and spend a day at rest before turning back.

The return leg takes you over Paso La Honda at 4,350 meters, where on clear days you can see Aconcagua and the high ridge line. Then down to Manantiales, back to Barreal, and a farewell dinner in cabins instead of under canvas. The whole expedition runs December through March — the southern summer, when the weather is most stable, though "stable" in the high Andes means you still dress for cold and wind. Groups stay under 14 people. You need at least moderate fitness and a current passport. The mules carry the heavy gear; you carry yourself and the weight of riding eight hours some days at altitude.

What’s included

Round-trip transport from San Juan to Barreal in an air-conditioned vehicle, all meals throughout the expedition, accommodation in mountain camps (with carpas) and cabins in Barreal, horses and mules with full support from local guides and baqueanos, and all logistics briefing before departure. You bring your own riding clothes, layers for cold mountain weather, and a valid passport.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Posta Inca Adventures Expeditions

Is this one for you?Built for riders who want the full weight of a mountain crossing — the history, the altitude, the camp life, the mules — without having to organize the route, the animals, or the logistics yourself. The guides and baqueanos handle the navigation and the stock; you handle the riding and the eight days of being in the high Andes.